It's essentially the season finale of mid to long distance dog mushing! Spring has sprung in most of Alaska, but for the Northern West Coast there's still a little winter left to be found. Kotzebue hosts (and boasts) one of the longest mid-distance races in Alaska. The Kobuk 440 is known for unpredictable weather, many a race has been sidelined due to violent ground storms that blow up seemingly out of nowhere.
The Kobuk has had some of the most exciting finishes of any race, coming down to just seconds a time or two, and is always a musher and fan favorite. The race is well known for its creative and humorous social media volunteer team that never seems to sleep during the race but always brings the fun.
This year there will be fourteen teams headed down the trail, many coming from outside of the region. Four women are in the mix, as well as an Iditarod Champion. There are mushers hoping to finish up their qualifiers ahead of the 2025-26 season, their eyes set on "the big one" in 2026. There are mushers who are hoping to finish their season on a strong note. Mushers who have more they want to prove of their team. Mushers whose motives are anyone's guess.
Many fan favorites will race in the Kobuk in April. Let's discuss who have the best chance to take home the top prize.
Who to Watch
Eddie Burke Jr - Eddie's been working hard to rebuild his kennel with a fresh set of young dogs bred at Off the Rails Kennel. He managed to run several races with his "puppy team" this season even with the lackluster winter South Central Alaska suffered. Burke even tried his hand at the Rondy Invitational where he took his long distance doggos to a sprint race. They did pretty well. Burke has been a quick study on the back of a dog sled, the 2023 Iditarod Rookie of the Year has high hopes for his team's future, and it starts here. Eddie withdrew ahead of race day.
Hugh Neff - Let's just.... put aside the controversy shall we? Neff is reportedly running a team borrowed from Iditarod Champion Dean Osmar (from the Kenai Peninsula) and where Hugh is - well, we can't count him out. Expect Neff to run an aggressive race. He is out to prove something to someone most likely and he wants to give his fans a show. He's won this race before, and he's hungry for another one.
Jessie Holmes - Jessie loves the Kobuk. Jessie just had the magic carpet ride on the Iditarod. Jessie has the team that dares you to try and beat them. Team Can't Stop is just that, a team that can't and won't stop. You'll have to out race them at every part of the race this year. Expect the reinging Kobuk champion to do everything in his power to do it again.
Rohn Buser - Rohn's race season kinda went sideways for good reasons (he's a new dad of TWO!) and he was a late entry for this year's Kobuk. He's got his sights set on Iditarod 2026 so this will be most likely a race that he uses as a "training run" for his team as he starts the work to prepare for "the big one". Buser is very capable of playing more than a spoiler in this race, and it will be interesting to see the approach he takes.
Let's also give some nods to teams that could totally blow this prediction out of the water. James Bourquin had a fantastic race last year with the Kobuk finishing 3rd. Jim could easily do it again if conditions are right. Anna Hennessy and Kristy Berington both are running teams that had phenominal success for their respective kennels. Anna is running a team made up of the dogs that Emily Ford ran in this year's Iditarod, and Kristy is running the dogs her sister Anna took down the trail. And right behind Anna Berington was Lauro Eklund who could also surprise us. It's a stacked field, let's just leave it at that.
So let's just take a look at all fourteen signed up for the race that begins April 3, shall we? (As always, once bib numbers are published this blog post will be updated with bib numbers. Currently the list is in alphabetical order.)
Musher Roster
Roster edited to reflect final roster and bib numbers. April 2, 2025 @7:45pm AKDT.
You know who's racing, but how are you going to watch if you can't get up to Kotzebue? So glad you asked!
How to Watch
Unlike what we just had with Iditarod (if you paid for Insider), the Kobuk like most of the mid-distance races relies more on social media posts and radio updates than they do video. Depending on weather and internet connection there may be live video of the start and finish, according to accuweather the thermometer is set to read just above zero though the chill in the air will make it feel like -11. A frozen feed (pun somewhat intended) is possible, though the volunteer social media crew have gotten pretty good at making videos happen even if the livefeed doesn't. Along with the video feeds there are ways to keep up with the race happenings, so let's make sure we have all of the links you need.
Official Website
You can find the rules, links to all ways of following the race, and the history of the Kobuk 440 here. Musher bios are also available. The official website may have links to live feeds, so also keep a look out for that. Click here for the link.
GPS Tracker
We're all attached to this bit of technology. If you wonder where the term "tracky boi" came from, you can thank the Kobuk 440. Their social media team were the first to coin the phrase... the phrase that sets some fans' teeth on edge, but it's becoming more endearing each year. Once again, you can follow the race thanks to TrackLeaders. Beep-boop-beep.
Radio Broadcast
Race updates throughout the weekend will be broadcast over on KOTZ-AM. They have a livestream. They may broadcast the start, but it's unclear. Click here to listen in. (If that link doesn't work, try this one.)
Social Media
This is where it's at. The most entertaining race has to be the Kobuk 440 for their amazing social media team. The volunteers know how to get and keep your attention. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter where they are most active as well as Instagram. KOTZ-AM also has a Facebook page that should share some race info throughout the weekend.
You know HOW to watch, but let's make sure you catch all the action by giving you the days and times of what is planned.
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, April 2
10:00am - Meet the Mushers (Radio Interviews)
6:00pm - Musher Meeting/Bib Draw
Thursday, April 3
12:30pm - Race Mass Start
Monday, April 7
2:00pm - Finish Cutoff
6:00pm - Awards Ceremony
Who are you excited to follow? Thoughts on who may take home the top prize? Comment with your thoughts below!
And, as always, you can Buy me a slice of pizza to help keep the blog up and running. It's always appreciated but never expected.
